EP0484181A1
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EP
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Ultrasonic color doppler diagnostic apparatus
Assignee: Fukuda Denshi Co Ltd
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Filing: 1991-11-01
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-11-01
Abstract
Abstract An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus for displaying at least two successive frames of original images of the two-dimensional images obtained for each ultrasonic interframe time, to find and display a natural interpolated image, it comprises a shape parameter calculating unit (110) which calculates the shape parameters characterizing the shape of a blood flow region on the original images, a shape parameter interpolating unit (112) which calculates the shape parameters interpolated at a designated timing designated in the interframe time from the said shape parameters, the interframe time, and the designated timing, an image converting unit (113) which converts the image of at least one frame of the original image in the plurality of original images in accordance with the shape parameters at a designated timing found by the shape parameter interpolating means to obtain the interpolated image, and a displaying means (116) which displays a moving image comprised of the interpolated images inserted in between the original images and moving images of only the interpolated images.
Inventors
- 👤 Toshiya c/o Fujitsu Limited Miyazaki
- 👤 Akira c/o Fujitsu Limited Shiba
- 👤 Keiichi c/o Fujitsu Limited Murakami
- 👤 Takaki C/O Fujitsu Limited Shimura
- 👤 Junichi c/o Fujitsu Limited Tanahashi
- 👤 Takashi C/O Fujitsu Limited Toriu
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 03:07
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S7/00; G01S7/52; G01S7/52017; G01S7/52053; G01S7/52057; G01S7/52071; G01S15/00; G01S15/88; G01S15/89; G01S15/8906; G01S15/8979; G01S7/5206
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
200 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus for displaying at least two successive frames of original images of the two-dimensional images obtained for each ultrasonic interframe time, provided with a function of transmitting an ultrasonic pulse in a plurality of directions with respect to a specimen, processing the signal received, and displaying the results as a two-dimensional image of the average speed, speed dispersion, or Doppler signal power of blood flowing in the specimen, comprising: a shape parameter calculating means for calculating the shape parameters characterizing the shape of blood flow regions on the original images, a shape parameter interpolating means for calculating the shape parameters interpolated at a designated timing designated in said interframe time from the said shape parameters, said interframe time, and said designated timing, an image converting means for converting the image of at least one frame of the original image in the plurality of original images in accordance with the shape parameters at a designated timing found by said shape parameter interpolating means to obtain an interpolated image, and a displaying means which displays a moving images comprised of the interpolated images inserted in between the original images and moving images of only the interpolated images.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
158 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a weighted averaging means for weighting said interpolated image obtained by said image converting means and for averaging the weighted interpolated images, said weighted averaging means comprising: a first weighting means for weighting, by a value (t2 - th)/(t2 - t1), a first interpolated image, where t1 is a first timing corresponding to a first frame original image, t2 is a second timing corresponding to a second frame original image, and th is said designated timing, said first interpolated image being obtained by converting, by said image converting means, said first frame original image; a second weighing means for weighting a second interpolated image by said value (t2 - th)/(t2 - t1), where said second interpolated image is obtained by converting, by said image converting means, said second frame original image; and an adding means for adding the weighted first and second interpolated images.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
55 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shape parameter interpolating means is a shape parameter linear interpolating means for performing linear interpolation on the shape parameters of a second frame original image in accordance with the interframe time and the designated timing and thereby calculates interpolated shape parameters.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
63 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shape parameter interpolating means is a shape parameter high order interpolating means for calculating any function passing through the shape parameters of at least three frames of original images, then for calculating the interpolated shape parameters at the designated timing as values of the function at the designated timing.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a shape parameter averaging means for averaging a plurality of frames worth of shape parameters for each frame calculated in said shape parameter calculating means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
105 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: a characteristic judgment means for judging the characteristic of the average speed, speed dispersion, or Doppler signal power of the blood flowing in a specimen at pixels of the original image; and an image dividing means which divides into a plurality of images the original image in accordance with the characteristic of the average speed, speed dispersion, or Doppler signal power of the blood flowing in the specimen; the divided images obtained by the division being deemed as original images and finds the interpolated images with respect to the divided images,
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
34 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 6, characterized in that said characteristic judging means is a sign judging means for performing judgment of the sign of the average speed.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
83 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 6, characterized in that said characteristic judging means is a mosaic pattern judging means for judging that the number of the pixels having an average speed of over a predetermined speed +Vth and the number of pixels having an average speed less than a predetermined speed -Vth, in the pixels surrounding and including a particularly noted pixel, together are more than a predetermined number so that the pattern is a mosaic one.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
46 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 6, characterized in that the said characteristic judging means is a labeling means for applying the same label to pixels constituting connecting portions for each connecting portion where pixels adjoin and form a single cluster.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
81 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 2, further comprising: a blood flow region presence judging means for judging if there is a region in which blood is flowing in at least one original image in the said two frames of original images; and an image interpolation bypassing means which bypasses the said image converting means in accordance with the results of the above detection and thereby directly inputs the original image in the weighted averaging means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
49 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the displaying means has a display suppressing means which suppresses the display of pixels outside of the range of measurement of the average speed, speed dispersion, or Doppler signal power of blood flowing in a specimen.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
53 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said displaying means comprises an interpolated image synthesizing means which displays, among the pixels of the interpolated images obtained from the plurality of divided images, the ones with the maximum absolute values of the average speed of the blood flow.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
68 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein a two-dimensional image of the average speed, speed dispersion, or Doppler signal power of the blood flowing through a specimen is used as the original image and at the same time use is made of a B mode image as an original image to produce and display an interpolated image of the B mode image.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
114 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: an image separating means for separating a B mode image and a two-dimensional image of the average speed, speed dispersion, and Doppler signal power of the blood flowing in the specimen from an NTSC, RGB, or other image signal; and a flow rate data normalizing means for normalizing the pixel value of the two-dimensional image of the average speed, speed dispersion, or Doppler signal power of blood flowing in a specimen, using a pixel value of a color bar showing the correspondence between the average speed, speed dispersion, or Doppler signal dispersion of blood flowing in a specimen and color.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
87 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: an original image frame memory for three or more frames, an original image selecting means for selecting two frames of original images from the original image frame memory, an interpolated image frame memory for storing interpolated images, and a displayed frame selecting means for selecting any one frame in the original image frame memory and interpolated image frame memory, the interpolated image being displayed at the time of reproduction of a cine loop.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
40 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 15, further comprising a display format for notifying at the time of cine loop reproduction or freezing if the displayed image is an original image or an interpolated image.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
34 words
An ultrasonic color Doppler diagnostic apparatus as set forth in claim 15, wherein a frame to be frozen at the time of reproduction of the cine loop is specified as an original image frame.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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